Air gun



April 5, 1949. W. A. TRATSCH 2,466,513

AIR GUN Filed Jan. 25, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 34 NVENTOR.

mf/fg im@ Bil/m im@ April 5, E949. w. A. TRATscH AIR GUN 3 Sheets-Sheet3 Filed Jan. 25, 1945 Patented Apr. 5, 1949 misc STATES Pei-*ENT o-FeiceWalter Tratschi; Ghicagofl'll-, assigner` to Clarence E.Thi'eed'y,ChicagoJllwas trustee 2- Claims.

This invention relates to' new' 'anduseful?v im'- pr'mfenoents` inv air'guns. More 'specifically the invention' relates' to' a novel trigg'erni'eollani's'in for' controlling passage of air' to' the `ariel offthe'gun to expel the' 'shot'tirerelro'ma TheA invention for its-principalobjectthe provision oi an improved construction or this character which'will be highly eiii'cient in use and economical in manufacture.

As a Yfurther and equally important object Cif the invention is theprovision 'of mechanism lfiaving maximum speed of operation/wherebyt'oproduce the maximu'mpropulsion' speed? to' the'sl'fi'ot from thebarrel'.

More' s''pecifl'oailyv in' thisl c'onr'iection;l the ini/en;A tion hasfor an object the provisionforopeniri'g an air valve to the barrelofIthe gun lov-means of hammer action upon' aI plunger; 'thereby prod'ucm'gthe maximuin speed of expulsion oi-v the shot from the barrel' o'f the"guna Other objects will appear -liereina'iften The invention consists#iin the novel? combina tion 'and arrangement ol' parts to be'hereinafter described and claim'e'df.

The invention' will be' best' linders'toodY by referen'ce' to' the'accompanying drawings slloiin'g the preferred forni' ofconstr'u'ctioni,v an'd-invvhicli:

Fig. 1` `is avperspe'ctiv'e View 'ofthe'tri'g'gelmeohl anism embodied inthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective 'View 'similar 'to 1 showing* the parts incockedposition` ready for inipingement upon` the valve'plung'erem'bodie'd in the invention;

Fig'. 3 is a vertical sectionaloetailffview or'- eer; tain parts' of'the trigger mechanism,snovving'the hammer in impinged engagement withthe valve plunger embodied the invention;

Fig. 4 is a vertical "sectional-'detail view' of? 'a proposed valvemechanism embodied/in the in- Vention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective vi'eiv similar to'F-i'g'. 5 but showing theparts of tli'etriggei" mechanism in a, dinerent position' withfrespectto eeen other;

Tlie present invention' constitute's'aii 'ini-prove"- me'nt over'tha'tshown i'n r'ny ooia'panon`v applica"- tion iiledV on December'Z'',1944,Se`1ial`No'. '5GB-1768) now abandoned, and like the inventiondisclosed in that application the present inventio'nfconstitutes animprovement over' that 'shown' in my Letters Patent No'. 2,304,320,dated'f'Deceniber 8; 1942'.

The drawings of this present application' illus:

'2i trate the piieferrediorm of construction-by which the' severalobjects ofy the' invention are accomplished; In these draw-ings and as-YWill1 be apparent- .from the' description hereinafter tol follow, thefori-nf orthevariosA parts does'not enter into the" invention, aridtheformA shown in thefdrawings'isrtfobe considered merely thep'referreotform or coh-strnotion? for? purpose's'of illustration of this invention;

Inthi'srespect; referring toFigs'.- 1 'to 4 inclu'- sive,y the presentinvention includes a mounting plateT Ill which isfassociated, afsuitable manner, with thel'breech block of-'tloeA gun. Ont this inount'-inggplate)` lf, yatonefend thereof, isf rnc'iiri'tedfa1 valve `housing'yHf. Tliisvalve' housing llfisintlie form off ai b-l'oiik` M' and'provides 'a port I2, which has communication Witlraishot tube I3, Thisport l2 ocininunix':ates"v'vi'th''aftulcer4 l-'m'ounted in ay cou-ri#trl'or'e I6"-ffofr-rne-:d'invthe block l1'. A'port" I8 oommuni'e'ate'sjWitni'the' port I2. A valve seat lis indi'- caftedat l'9f-,fandthisvalve seat' closes-l anI oric'e 2i) which communicates with afduct-Z lin'turn having communication withl a; 'suitable' compressed' air line'22. The valve'tiibeV 1'5A includes aV packing nipple'f2'3Wliichisthreadedv upoira thread-:bearing lo'ss Zil'g` `ai'id' rnbllnt'edfor sli-dable movement' in tli'valve' tube a'ndcomprising? a valve head25', isifa plunger or plunger' rcd`= 26;

(3*olnmur-iicating'r with the port l2 is a' shot delivery duct 2:11 inturn vcomnu'inic':ating'- With' a slrottube Z8 bv Ineansv of whichi theshotsl `are conflnedl in' "ai manner' disclosed' 'in' my Patent o."2230433202 it being" pointed out that the man# ner of 'supplying-the'shots7 to the supply tub'e 2f8 doesv not' constitute part' o'f thispresent rin'- lto" 'duct-"21g it Will plunger.' rod- VTeil1' oar- 1' y61116632 on'. @Slifoifm'e'd'in one 'side tliereof for' pass eoi-"the'riist'omoper'atin'gV arm '3:41, 'Saidariii' be'h' referred' to rrroreindetail l'iereihafter'. A v

` plunger '2e 'has `its 'outer end' vportion 'at slidabiv jou'fiaiee'through a me et' 'formed an integral part of ythe mounting plate l'lthis plunger 526 isaI plunger head '31 and disposed between thlisplungerhead 3l andthe .lug 35 isanf yexpansion spring 3B which normallyVforces thel plunger 26 vin a leftehan'd direction' as' viewed in! Fig..1.

Tlreim'ountirigplatev li) carries a pintl'e' 3 Spano? pivotalli?supported 'bv y'this pintl' `lffis- 'the' -lovverA d'portlon "4 IJr of ahammer 41', 'the lianrir' '41' 't' Zofis delivered 3 having abifurcation 42 formed in its upper end for the reception of the plunger26.

The hammer 4| is normally held against the plunger head 31 by means of aspring 43, one end of which is connected as at 44 to the lug 36, and theother end 45 being connected to the hammer 4|. This hammer 4| has ashank 46 which provides a plate 41, having a slot 48 formed thereinthrough which projects a latch arm 49 having a latch head 50. This latchhead 50 is adapted to engage the adjacent wall portion 5| of the plate41 of the shank 46. This latch arm is pivotally connected as at 52 to atrigger head 53, pivotally connected to the mounting block lll by meansof a pintle 54'. The latch arm 491s normally held in engagement with theplate portion 41 of the shank 46 by means of a spring 55, one end ofwhich is connected as at 56 to the latch arm and the opposite endportion of spring 55 to a transverse Wall 51 of the trigger 58, the saidtrigger providing a ringer piece 59.

Pivotally connected by means of a pintle 60 to the mounting plate I isthe arm 6| which operates the piston 3|. This arm 6| has an elongatedslot 62 formed therein, and operating 'in this slot is a pin 63. Thearrangement is such that when the trigger 58 is pulled backward againstthe action of the spring 64 by application of the linger of the operatorupon the linger piece 59, the pin 63, riding in the slot 62, will ybearagainst edge of the slot 62 of the arm 6| and elevate the arm 6| to theposition shown in Fig. 2, and in turn elevate the plunger 30 in the duct21 to position the shot 29 in the port |2. Simultaneously with thisaction, the latch arm 49, being caused to move forward, will engage theedge of the Ibight portion 48 and pivot the hammer 4| away from theplunger head 31 against the action of the spring 43. This will disposethe curved tail 65 of the latch arm 49 in contact with a pin 66 carriedby the mounting plate I0, so that upon further movement of the latch arm49 by the action of the trigger 58, the curved portion 65 of the latcharm 49 will be caused to cam against the pin 66. This camming of thecurved portion 65 of the latch arm 49 against the pin 66, will pivot thelatch arm so as to disengage the latch head 50 from the wall 5| of thebight portion 48 of the hammer 4|, whereupon, under action of the spring43 (which in the meantime has been expanded by this movement of themechanism), the hammer 4| will be caused to pivot in an oppositedirection, striking the plunger head 31 with an impact force suflicientto quickly move the plunger 26 against the action of the spring 38. Thismicroscopic movement of the plunger 26 will open the passage through theport I8 to admit the compressed air into the port |2 to eject the shottherefrom with microscopic action.

I have found from actual practice and experience that the best resultand greatest speed of an air rifle shot is best obtained by thequickness in the operation of opening and closing the valve. This isaccomplished by a trigger mechanism constructed in accordance with theforegoing description.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have illustrated a slightly modied form ofconstruction of the invention. In this form of construction the plunger26 is journaled between the angled end portions 61 and 61 of a bracket69 secured in any suitable manner to the plate I0. The plunger 26 has anenlarged head'portion 10 formed at its outer end portion. Pivotallycarried by a pintle 1| in turn carried fby the mounting plate, |0 ls anarm 12 the top Which is adapted to bear against the head 10, as shown inFig. 6. This arm 12 pivotally carries at its outer end, as at 13, a tripplate 14. Mounted between an enlarged portion 13 of the plunger 26 andthe angled portion 61 of the plate 69, is an expansion spring 14'.

The trigger 15 is pivotally connected as at 16 to the mounting plate l0and .includes a projection 11 which is adapted to engage a wall of thevalve housing Il, to limit its pivotal movement in a clockwisedirection. To the iinger portion 18 of this trigger 15 is pivoted, as at19, a latch arm providing a latch head 8|. This latch head 8| is adaptedto have engagement with a lug 82 of an arm 83 pivotally mounted to themounting plate In as at 84. The arm 83 is normally urged to pivot in aclockwise direction by means of a spring 85 having its medial portionwound as at 86 upon the pivot pintle 84 and having one end portion 81engaging the arm and an opposite end portion 88 engaging a pin 89carried by the mounting plate l0. The arm 83 has an extension 90provided with a lateral cylindrical projection 9| at its extremity. Astop pin 92 is carried by the plate I0 and is adapted to limit thepivotal movement of the arm 83 by action of the spring 85.

The arrangement is such that when the trigger 15 is pivoted in ananticlockwise direction, the latch head 8|', being in engagement withthe lug 82, will pivot the arm 83 in a clockwise direction about itspivot 34 against the action of the spring 85 until the cam end portion93 of the latch arm 80 cams over pin 94 carried by the mounting plateI0. 'I'his camming of the latch arm 88 over pin 94, releases the latcharm from engagement with the lug 82 whereupon the arm 83 is pivoted inan anticlockwise direction in snap action under the action of the spring85. In this pivotal movement of the arm 83 the pin 9| will strikeagainst the edge of the trip plate 14. Since this trip plate is limitedby the angled end portion 96 which engages the edge 91 of the arm 12 asthe pin 9| strikes against the edge 95 of the trip plate 14, the arm 12will be caused to pivot in a clockwise direction in snap action, andthis action of the arm 12 is transmitted to the plunger 26 which moveswith great speed to open the valve port I8 for reasons hereinbefore setforth.

In its movement in a clockwise direction about the pivot 84, the arm 83will engage the trip plate 14 and, inasmuch as this plate 14 is free topivot in an anticlockwise direction, the arm 83 will, in pivoting in thedirection stated, be free to move to the right of the trip plate 14, asviewed in Fig. 6.

In the form of construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6, I have notillustrated nor described the means of delivering the shot to thestructure Il, as such means does not constitute a part of the presentinvention and any means for that purpose may be employed, such forexample that shown in my Patent No. 2,304,320.

By the employment of the mechanism shown in the modied form ofconstruction, a trigger mechanism is provided which is positive in itsoperation and which, like, the preferred form of construction, willresult in rapid expulsion of the shot from the shot tube within thebarrel.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable ofvariation and modiilcation without departing from the spirit of theinvention. I, therefore, do not Wish to be limited to the precisedetails of construction 5 set forth, but desire to avai1 myself of suchvariations and modiioations as come within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, what claim as new and desire toprotect by Lette-rs Patent is:

1. An ir gun comprising a mounting structure, a valve structure on themounting structure including a plunger having an enlarged portion, meanssupporting said plunger from said mounting structure for movement inopposite directions with respect to its length, spring means for movingsaid plunger in one direction, trigger means for moving said plungeragainst the action of said spring means comprising an arm pivotaiiycarried by the mounting structure, means for pivoting said arm innammerdilre action. said enlarged portion to move the plunger againstthe action of said spring means, means adapted to have latohedengagement with said arm for pivoting said arm in an opposite direction,and means for disengaging said last mentioned means from engagement withsaid arm to permit said arm to be moved by said arm moving means in saidhammer-like action against said enlarged portion.

2. An air gun comprising a mounting structure, a valve structure on themounting structure including a plunger having an enlarged portion, meanssupporting said piunger from said mounting structure for movement inopposite rdirections with respect to its length, spring means for movingsaid plunger in one direction, trigger means for moving said plungeragainst tne action of said spring means comprising an arm pivotallycarried by the mounting structure, means for pivoting said arm inhammer-like action against said enlarged portion to move the plungeragainst the action of said spring means, means adapted to have latcliedengagement with said arm for pivoting said arm in an opposite direction,and means for disengaging said last mentioned means from engagement withsaid arm to permit said arm to be moved by said arm-moving means in saidhammerdike action against said eniarged portion, said latch-disengagingmeans comprising a member carried by said mounting structure and adaptedfor camming engagement with an end portion of said iatch means.

WALTER A. TRATSCH.

REFERENCES CITED The oiiowing references are of record in the nie ofthis patent:

UNTED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 452,382 Gifford May 26, i8912,299,673 Beaseley Oct. 20, 1942

